Island DelAir # 5 Torrefied Adirondack & Figured Sapele

The DelAir model is in some ways a departure from the stylings of the rest of the Island roster, but still incorporates that critical design sense that is unique to Nic and his approach to building such fine instruments.

A years-long collaborative effort with classical builder Mathieu Dallaire Walker produced an electric archtop that is radical and elegant with a touch of "old world" influence. Here's what Nic has to say about the guitar's construction:

"The plates and side geometry are radically shaped on 5’ radius hemispheres, giving the instrument a striking appearance, with the side depth ranging from a full 3” to a mere 1.25”. This shape is naturally ergonomic and conforms to the player’s body while the floating neck provides unfettered access to upper frets.

The top and back are made using a unique lamination featuring Nomex, the aerospace material used in “double top” classical guitars. They’re glued on to a rimset of “structed sides”, another unique lamination using full height kerfed liners and exterior skins. The entire system is extremely stiff and stable and provides a loud, clear, articulate tone, rich with harmonic content."

There's a lot to decode here, but we'll boil it down for you - this guitar is INCREDIBLY responsive. The lightness of build combined with the taut geometry allow notes to jump right out of the guitar in near effortless fashion. You can control the guitar's warmth and bite with just a shift of pick attack, which sheds any conventional notion that an archtop is stylistically limited. The MOJO Hersheybucker also bucks that trend, absorbing that great natural acoustic qualities of the DelAir and bringing some beautifully rich and expressive tonal options to the table.

The DelAir model is unlike anything else we represent in the shop, and we're absolutely thrilled to have a guitar so inspiring and forward-thinking that shows off the incredibly talented work of Nic Delisle.

Note: Video is of a previous DelAir build.